A Jewel's Facets
by Revolutionary Venom
Summary: Aftermath of "To Catch a Duck". Duke reflects on the past and present. Just read! The summary sucks
1. Duke's Pain

Hallo thar everyone! 8D After some thought (and some reviewers suggestions), I got a new story! One reviewer/writer by the name of ObscureWriter included a comment in their review for my story "Sleepless Nights" about how if something ever happened to Duke, then the Flashblade brothers would probably need lifetime prescriptions of Valium xD So, this story is kinda where that came from. Thanks Obscure!

P.S. There actually IS a place called Fredonia! (Remember, the last jewel that Falcone and Duke were after was called "The Sapphire of Fredonia") Several places by this name actually, but none of them sounded like it would match the cartoon version...Just thought you guys should know

Disclaimer: I don't own MD:TAS. I'd be rich if I did

* * *

Duke sat by himself on a corner-bench of the Aerowing, wrapped in a blanket that Mallory had found, as the team flew back to Anaheim from the clock tower in Fredonia. No one had talked to him in awhile, but it didn't bother him so much. He had plenty of time to think this way.

Stealing the two out of four of the biggest jewels with Falcone had brought back adrenaline that he hadn't experienced since before the invasion of the Saurians back on Puckworld. The rush of jewel heists from the old days were vastly different from the ones he got from fights with Dragaunus, his cronies, and other various villains of Earth.

Despite the fact that he had meant to con Falcone into finding out why he had been working for Dragaunus, he had actually enjoyed some aspects of the hunt for the jewels.

And for that, Duke felt ashamed of himself.

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Nosedive looked at the gray, older mallard sitting in the corner by himself. The teenager couldn't help himself from looking at Duke every few minutes; he had been seriously worried for a minute or two when Falcone had trapped him and Tanya in that chamber, but something deep in Dive told him that Duke _had _to have a reason for ditching the two and leaving them behind. That he _hadn't _gone bad and was still on their side.

And the teen was glad in the end for being right about that.

He looked at the mallard again, for what seemed like the millionth time, when he noticed that Duke was favoring his left side. Nosedive looked at the others to see if anyone else had noticed, but it seemed that the others were in their own world (except Wildwing, but that was because he was flying the jet.)

So, worried for his teammate, Nosedive got up and walked over to his friend. "Hey Duke," he said, taking a seat next to the ex-bandit. "Doing alright?"

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Duke was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard his name called. He looked up to see the youngest of the team take a seat next to him. "Been better kid," he answered, pulling the blanket wrapped around him tighter, hiding the hand that was on his left side. When he looked at the kid's face though, he managed a grin, and said, "Relax Dive, I'm fine."

"But you don't _look _fine."

Duke took his hand from his side, pulling it out from under the blanket and poking Nosedive. "I'm alright kid, just some bumps an' bruises," he said, trying to reassure the teenager.

"…then why's there blood on your hand?"

Puzzled, Duke looked at his gloved, right hand. _How on Puckworld did that happen?_ the ex-thief thought, confused. He knew his side was hurting, but he hadn't felt anythi-

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Nosedive watched as the gray drake wobbled, then started to fall forward. The teenager caught Duke before he fell to the floor. "Duke!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Mallory, Grin, Tanya, and Wildwing all looked towards the back. "What's going on back there?" Wildwing asked his brother from the pilot seat.

"Duke just passed out!"

"What?!" was the explanation from all as the others made their way to the back, Wildwing putting the Aerowing on auto-pilot before rushing back. Tanya got to Duke and Nosedive first, throwing the blanket that had been around the older one off.

"What happened?!" Wildwing demanded as Tanya and Nosedive laid Duke onto his back. "I think _that _might have something to do with it," Mallory said, pointing to Duke's left side, which was oozing blood from a long and rather nasty-looking gash.

"How did nobody notice that?" asked Nosedive, sitting on the floor across from Tanya as she looked at the wound. "That's a good question," Mallory said, going for one of the shelves nearby that held some first aid supplies. She brought them back to Tanya, who immediately dug through it for gauze.

"So what do we do?" asked Nosedive, watching as Tanya found what she was looking for, taking out bandages as well. "Well, nothing really until we, y'know, get back to the Pond," Tanya answered. "Sit him up Nosedive."

The teenager did as he was told and helped the passed out gray drake sit up. Tanya pressed the gauze to her teammate's side, then started wrapping the bandages around his chest. This caused a moan to emit from Duke, though he remained unconscious.

"Looks like we need to get back fast," Wildwing said. He went back up front to the controls, punching a few different buttons. "There. We should be back at the Pond in about an hour."

The others looked at Tanya. "Will he be alright until then?" Mallory asked.

She just sighed, tying off the bandages around Duke's chest. "Probably, unless he - uh - loses more blood," she said. "But I think the bleeding's slowing down."

Mallory looked to Grin as Tanya and Nosedive laid Duke back down and re-covered him with the blanket to avoid going into shock. "So, does this reflect upon Duke's karma?" she asked, since the much larger duck had yet to say anything.

The Zen-oriented drake shook his head. "But bear in mind this saying," he said. "All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything; what we think we become."

"…what?"

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Duke could hear voices above him, and he could feel the cold, steel floor of the Aerowing under him. _What the heck? What happened?_

He tried to open his good eye, but that proved futile since it felt like a slab of concrete was holding it down…actually, his whole body felt heavy, and he didn't know why. He could feel something wrapped around his chest, and something else on top of him as well. What was _really _odd to Duke was that he felt like he was hearing and feeling everything from a far-off distance, which couldn't be possible.

_Is this what an out-of-body experience is like? _he thought. _No way, it can't be! If that was goin' on, I'd be seein' everyone and everything around me, including myself…wouldn't I?_

"How much longer Wing? He doesn't look that great…"

"Another twenty minutes or so Nosedive."

Duke recognized the two voices as Wildwing and Nosedive. _Why's the kid worried 'bout me?_ the former jewel bandit thought. _I'm not worth worryin' over. I've had worse anyway…_

Suddenly, he felt someone messing with his injured side. Unfortunately, he didn't even have the energy to emit any indication of pain as he felt something being pressed to his side.

"This isn't good guys," a voice that sounded an awful lot like Tanya's said.

"Why, what's the matter?"

Mallory? But she sounded really concerned…Duke must've been imagining it, considering the weird state he was in.

"It looks like he needs a - uh - transfusion when we get back. I've already changed his bandages twice since he collapsed."

_A transfusion?_ Duke thought._ But why? Wait a sec, I COLLAPSED? Why the puck did I do that? I felt fine!_

"I'm just surprised he hasn't gone into shock yet-"

Just that second, Duke could feel something with a disgusting taste crawl up the back of his throat. _Great Mother of Ducks, no!_

"You spoke too soon Tanya!"

"Quick, roll him on his other side so he doesn't choke on vomit!"

Duke felt himself being rolled onto his right side as his stomach emptied itself of anything he might've eaten in the last day or two. When his stomach finally stopped rebelling against the rest of his body, he heard "Get us there faster Wing!"

And then he fell back into whatever state of unconsciousness his body and mind had fallen into.


	2. Transfusions and Thoughts

HI GAIZ! Here's the second chapter =3 I'm not on a HUGE roll with this story, but ideas are coming to me, so I'm working with what I get. So enjoy!

P.S. If you haven't read "Every 1 in 15", you might want to. You don't _have _to, but there are a lot of references to what happened in that story in this one, more specifically this chapter.

P.S.S. I had a slight edit in the first chapter; I accidently said that Duke had been the one to lock Nosedive and Tanya in the chamber, when it was actually Falcone that did so. It was bugging me so much that I changed that bit

Disclaimer: I don't own MD:TAS. I'd be rich if I did

* * *

Upon their return to the Pond, Tanya had Grin carry their fallen comrade to the Infirmary. Well, technically they had run in, leaving Nosedive, Mallory, and Wildwing outside the doors to wonder what was happening inside. It had been awhile since the doors had 'swished' shut on the three; Mallory was laying on one of the benches, Wildwing was sitting on the other across from her, and Nosedive was sitting on the floor next to his brother.

_Almost feels like when Nosedive_ _had surgery for his appendix,_ thought Mallory, her hands propped under her head as she stared up at the ceiling.

Wildwing looked over to his brother, who had been silent ever since the team had come back. _Didn't think Dive would be so…quiet,_ the leader thought. But then again, the teen had been the one to notice that their ex-thief teammate pass out, so perhaps that had something to do with it.

Nosedive just sighed, hugging his knees closer to his chest. _I feel like I should do something! I mean, I still owe him for sticking with me and helping Tanya when I got sick,_ he thought, remembering how Duke had been picked to help the team tech to help out with surgery and staying the night to monitor him.

Suddenly, the three heard the doors open. They all looked up to see Tanya coming out, her business face on.

"What's going on?" Wildwing asked, standing from his seat.

"Yeah Tanya, tell us what's up," Nosedive said, also standing. Mallory sat up, but remained seated where she was.

"Well, Duke needs blood," Tanya told them. "I managed to get the Med-I-Com to screen him over for injuries and type out his blood-"

"What type does he have?" asked Mallory.

"He's got Type O," the team tech answered. "I already checked Grin for a possible donor, but his is A positive, so it's not gonna - y'know - work. Do you guys know what your blood types are?"

"Can't help you," Mallory said sadly. "I'm B negative."

Tanya looked to Wildwing. "I'm sorry Tanya," he apologized. "I'm A negative."

"Let me do it!"

The three looked at Nosedive. "I'm a Type O," he said. "Let me help. I still owe Duke from when I was sick."

Wildwing turned fully to face his younger brother. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, a little wary about the teenager wanting to do what Tanya was asking.

"Yeah I'm sure!" Nosedive exclaimed. "And I already know all the stuff that allows someone to donate; they gotta be at least 17, which I am, in good health, and weigh a certain amount. I qualify Wing!"

Wildwing looked at his brother, then back to Tanya. "Well, is it alright with you Tanya? You're the one that's going to have to do it."

"Sure, it's fine with me," the techie said. "C'mon Nosedive." She started back for the doors, the teenager following behind her. The doors shut behind the two, leaving Wildwing and Mallory behind again, wondering how bad off their teammate was.

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Duke could hear Tanya's voice instructing the kid to do something. He was in that state again where he could hear and feel everything, but it was all far off. At that moment, he had no idea where he was, except on something much softer than the floor of the Aerowing.

"Alright Nosedive, just get on the bed next to Duke's and lay back while I get the - uh - stuff ready."

_What kind of stuff?_ Duke thought, still wondering how it was that he could hear everything and feel stuff, but his body wouldn't obey him when it came to opening his eyes or speaking.

"This isn't gonna hurt is it?"

"Oh no, it's just a needle prick. Here, hold out your arm so - uh - Grin can tie off a tourniquet."

"Wait, GRIN'S gonna do that?"

"Relax little friend. Tanya has taught me the art."

Duke mentally laughed. _Poor kid's got it rough,_ he thought._ But what the heck are they tying off one of those for? Did something happen to the kid while I was out?_

"So Tanya, how long does this usually take anyway?"

"Well, a usual donation of a pint can take up to about - uhm - eight to ten minutes. But I think Duke needs a bit more blood than that, so maybe twenty for the actual donation."

_I NEED BLOOD?! What the puck for? Oh wait, that's right, the kid pointed out that I was bleeding back on the Aerowing. Now that I think of it, didn't Tanya say I needed a transfusion the first time I woke up like this?_

So the ex-thief listened to Grin, Tanya, and Nosedive as they were doing what he guessed was a blood transfusion. He listened as Nosedive whined a little about the needle (was the kid scared of 'em? He'd have to ask Dive later when his body would let him wake up), Grin as he reassured his "little friend" and that it was good karma, and Tanya as she was doing…well, whatever.

But as he listened, he had time to think about the last twenty-four hours or so. _Is Grin right about my karma? How _could _he be right? I mean, for awhile there, I was really tempted to take the stuff. Maybe not that ruby we got back from Siege and Wraith when all this started, but when Falcone started talkin' about the Sapphire of Fredonia, it got me goin' in a direction I didn't think I'd go down again._

Suddenly, Duke was interrupted from his thoughts when he could feel a prick on the inside part of his left arm. _Ow! What the puck?_

"Do you think he's feeling any of that Tanya?"

"I doubt it Nosedive. I mean, he's got a concussion and is unconscious."

_If you only knew,_ Duke thought. He wished he could roll his eyes just to show them how awake and aware he was of everything, but he knew that wasn't possible right now. His body felt so tired right now…

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Nosedive looked at the ex-thief who lay on the next bed over. The teen was still hooked up to the thing that was taking his blood, hoping that he could help. Duke looked terrible, but Tanya hadn't said what his injuries were other than a concussion and the gash on his side. The other thing that was making Dive fret was that Duke hadn't once woken up since he had passed out back on the Aerowing over an hour ago.

"You're worried about him aren't you?"

Nosedive looked at Tanya, who had just finished hooking up an IV needle into Duke's inner left arm, just at the crook of his elbow and upper arm. The youngest sighed, relaxing against the pillows of the Med-I-Com bed. "Yeah," he admitted. "I guess it really freaked me out when he passed out on the way back." He stayed quiet for a few minutes before saying, "I guess, for some reason or another, I felt like I failed Duke for some reason, which is really weird-"

"None of us realized that he was hurt Nosedive," Tanya told him, as she began to untape the IV spot on Nosedive's arm. She unhooked the object that was taking his blood, took out the needle, then wrapped up the spot with a piece of gauze and some stretchy colored bandage. "It's not your fault."

"The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows," Grin said cryptically.

Nosedive looked at his friend, confused. "In English Grinster?"

"I think what he means is this that considering what was happening at the time, it's no one's fault for not noticing," Tanya answered. "Duke himself didn't even know he was hurt until you noticed the blood."

The three remained quiet for a little while, Tanya tending to their injured teammate, Grin sitting on the other side of the bed Nosedive was on, and the teenager lost in thought on the Med-I-Com bed. Finally, the teenager looked at Tanya and asked, "Do you need any help?"

"Well, maybe," Tanya answered. Nosedive started to get up-

"But I think it'd be best if you stayed in bed for awhile-"

And Nosedive wobbled when his feet touched the floor. "Whoa, was the room just spinning?" he asked. Grin came to the teenager's side and helped him back onto the bed.

"Rest my little friend," the Zen-oriented duck said. "Perhaps it would be better right now for you to rest. You've done your part to help him."

"Get some sleep," Tanya told him. "Donating blood drains the - uh - energy out of a person."

Nosedive laid back down on the bed. "Will you wake me up if he wakes up?" he asked, indicating Duke in the bed next to him. When Tanya simply nodded, the teenager turned over onto his side, pulling the sheets of the bed up to his waist. _I hope Duke will be alright, _he thought before falling asleep.

___**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

_Why am I stuck like this? It's like that freakin' limbo I keep hearing about from the humans,_ Duke thought. He sighed mentally. _I wonder if this is how Canard was after he sacrificed himself._

The former jewel bandit was really starting to get annoyed with the fact that whenever he woke up, it wasn't _really _waking up, just a state of awareness with the add-on of being able to think. It was pissing him off, mainly because he was hearing random bits of conversation each time he came back into this state, and he wasn't sure what was going on each time.

Right now, (he could feel who he could only guess was Tanya) was working on some other place on his body. After Duke had chunks of the clock tower falling on him due to Falcone, he guessed that he had a few injuries, but he hadn't really felt them. But as the team tech was doing stuff to him, he could feel new pain with each place.

_Geez, I didn't know I was in such bad shape,_ Duke thought._ I mean, after I got out of the rubble, I didn't feel anything'. At least, not much of anythin' anyway. Was that because of the adrenaline of trying to catch up to Falcone or what?_

_…not much to think about now, is there? I've been like this for awhile, and I still can't figure out why I can't wake up. Maybe I'm just more tired than I thought…_

Duke could suddenly hear something beeping from far off. _What's that noise? It sounds weird. Makes me think of a monitor of some kind…wait, did Tanya hook me up to a heart monitor? Am I _really _that bad off?_


	3. What's Going On

HI GAIZ! Here's the next chapter 8D And as I re-watched the beginning of "To Catch a Duck" when he's talking about Falcone and the Brotherhood of the Blade. I think the exact line was "He was in the mob I ran on Puckworld, the Brotherhood of the Blade." But my question is, if the BotB was like a mafia/jewel hunters guild, does this phrase necassarily mean that he was the mob boss? And if he was, how did no one manage to kill him a.k.a. "whack" him out of the guild for being the leader?

I dunno. I still think he wasn't the leader, but that's just me.

P.S. I'm trying to put in Duke's "slight" Brooklyn accent, but it's hard to write one. I can hear the words in my head, but can't type them because they look funny. So I'm doing my best with it

Disclaimer: I don't own MD:TAS. I'd be rich if I did

* * *

The doors to the Infirmary opened another two hours later. Mallory and Wildwing looked up from their card game they were playing on the floor to see Grin coming out of the doors. The larger drake looked down at the two, noticing that their leader was in streets clothes and that a pile of Wildwing's stuff was next to Mallory. "Might I inquire what you won Mallory?" Grin asked.

She smiled, shuffling a deck of cards in the process. "Let's see, I've got his armor gauntlets, a few ammo pucks, his jacket, the Mask of Drake DuCaine, and about fifty bucks."

Grin smiled, looking at their sullen leader. "I told you that I'd be a better card player if I wasn't worried about Dive and Duke," Wildwing retorted. Mallory just laughed, standing with the pile of her winnings. "Maybe so, but your skills still need sharpening."

Wildwing sighed, then stood up next to her. "So what's going on Grin?" he asked.

Grin shrugged. "I myself don't know much," he answered. "I believe Tanya wanted to wait until we were all there to tell us."

"Well, are you here to say we can go in?" Mallory asked, placing her winnings on the bench next to her, putting the deck next to them. Grin nodded, and Wildwing went in first.

As Mallory and Grin followed, he asked, "You _do _intend to give him back his things, don't you?"

Mallory smiled. "Except for the ammo pucks and fifty bucks, yeah. He gets the rest back."

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

The three came in to see Tanya with her back to them, appearing that she was still tending to Duke and Nosedive facing them, asleep on the first bed with a sheet to his waist.

"What's wrong with them Tanya?" the inquisitive leader asked. Tanya turned around, a little surprised to see that the mask was not on Wildwing's face, but she didn't ask about it. "Nothing's wrong with Nosedive," she answered. "He's just tired from all the - uh - events of the last twenty four hours and the add-on of donating blood."

"And Duke?" Mallory asked.

"Well, there's a few things about that," the team tech said. "The gash on his side was kinda deep, but it stopped bleeding. He's got a concussion, a few bruised ribs, and a cracked bone in his left wrist. Other than that, it's bumps, bruises, and a few stitches."

"Has he woken up yet?" Wildwing asked.

Tanya shook her head. "That's the other thing," she said. "He in a - uh - not quite comatose state-"

"Wait wait wait, he's in a _coma_?" Mallory asked, slightly shocked. Wildwing held up a hand, a signal to be quiet as he looked back at his fiery-headed teammate. "She wasn't finished Mallory," he told her. He put his hand down and gazed back at Tanya. "So it's not a coma," he half-finished, half asked.

"Well, it's more like…a really deep sleep," Tanya said. "I'm not sure why either. He's not in a coma, but he isn't - uhm - waking up anytime soon."

Silence stood as the news sunk into the three members of the team. "So there's nothing else we can do?" Wildwing finally asked.

Tanya sighed sadly. "Unfortunately no," she said. "We dunno how he even got this injured. My only guess is that Falcone did something, but Duke's the only one who can tell us anything."

She then moved from where she was, giving the others a full-view of their injured friend.

And he looked terrible.

Tanya had stripped Duke from the waist up, but all they could see were bandages wrapped around his chest, some going over his left shoulder. His left arm was in a sling, also bandaged up from hand to mid-arm. An IV was in his other hand, the bag on the Med-I-Com bed's IV pole appearing to be full of painkillers and other various medicine. Bandages were wrapped around his head as well, but his eye patch was still in place, so there was a contrast of black and white with the patch, bandages, and the gray of his hair/feathers. The stitches were lost amongst the gray of his feathers as well, so it was hard to count how many there were in the various spots.

Wildwing was shocked (to say the least) that Duke looked like this. It wasn't that long ago that the ex-thief had pick pocketed something from each of them and when they noticed, he gave it back saying, "Hey, gotta keep my skills sharp, right?" while walking to the Aerowing, and now he was…

Suddenly, the leader was snapped from his thoughts when he heard a beeping noise. He looked to the space between the bed Duke was on and the one Nosedive occupied to see a heart monitor on the table between the two beds. _How did I miss that one?_ Wildwing thought, watching the line spike every few seconds…

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Duke could hear the others talking above him about the kind of state he was apparently in. _Wow, I didn't know I was that hurt,_ he thought. _And I'm not in a coma? Then what is this? I can hear the others, and I can apparently think about everything happening._

_So what is this then?_

He heard Tanya say something about Falcone, and at that moment, he wished he could've gotten his body moving so he could wake up. He wanted to tell them about what had happened up in the clock tower so they would know about what had happened in their absence (even though he technically had ditched Nosedive and Tanya back at the Pacific Museum. That was something else he was going to have to apologize for.)

_This sucks! I can't talk, can't even open my eyes or say anything! _He could hear someone's footsteps, but he didn't know whose they were, because no one had said anything for awhile. Then, he heard a chair being pulled across the floor.

"What are you doing Wildwing?"

"Staying with my teammate and brother."

_That worried 'bout the kid huh?_

"But Tanya said Duke's not waking up anytime soon-"

"But I can't leave him like this. I doubted him for just a second and look what happened."

_...what?_

"…it's not your fault alone Wildwing. I was bugging him the whole time about how he had gone back to his old ways. Turns out I was wrong the whole time."

_Mallory? Well, I'll give it to ya that you were wrong the whole time, but I still felt great while I was conning Falcone…maybe that's what this is. My karma or whateva slapping me back in the face for feeling those same adrenaline rushes and almost _wanting _to go back to what I was._

Duke mentally slapped himself._ I _had_ to do what I did. If I didn't, then the others would've crossed Falcone, and who knows what would've happened. They probably would've all gotten hurt since he just _loves_ to do that._

But it was a question that could never be answered. At least, not by himself…

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Wildwing continued to sit vigil between the beds that held Duke and Nosedive, neither of which had woken up. Not that he was expecting Duke to, but the leader thought that his brother would have awakened by now since it had been several hours since he had donated his own blood.

It had been almost twelve hours since the team had gotten back. Tanya would come in every once in awhile to check on Duke, Mallory had sat with Wildwing until about an hour ago, and Grin had retreated the Infirmary long ago, saying that he needed to 'refocus his energy' (Wildwing guessed that that meant he was going to meditate on everything that had happened.)

The older Flashblade noticed when his brother began to shift in his sleep. Nosedive turned over, now facing his older brother, still asleep. Wildwing just sighed, then noticed that the sheets of the bed had gotten themselves tangled around Dive's knees. He smiled a little, got up from his seat, and untangled the sheets, bringing them up to cover his younger brother to his shoulders. The younger one settled back down, a small smile coming to his face.

Wildwing just sat back down, sighing. _A smile suits Dive best,_ he thought. _But it'll be gone once he wakes up and sees Duke. _The elder one sighed. _I wish this hadn't happened. But Duke kept insisting that he didn't need help. Heck, he even ditched Tanya and Dive in San Francisco. But the question is, what would've happened if he _hadn't _left them behind?_

A noise then disrupted Wildwing from his thoughts. He looked at his brother again to see him waking up.

Nosedive opened his eyes, looking tired. He sat up a little bit, propped up on his right arm while he rubbed his eyes with his left hand. "Oh man, what happened?" he asked. Then he noticed Wildwing sitting next to the bed. "Wing? What's going on?"

"Glad to see you're finally awake," the older Flashblade said. "You've been asleep for awhile."

"How long?"

"Since you finished giving blood-"

Nosedive suddenly shot up, sitting up fully. "Oh geez! Duke! Is he alright?! I made Tanya promise she'd wake me up when he did-"

Wildwing just sighed, looking down at the floor. "Wing?" Nosedive asked.

"…Tanya said that Duke's not going to wake up for awhile."

"…wha?"

"Look at the bed next to you Dive."

Nosedive looked next him and saw the state that Duke was in. "What happened to him Wing?" Nosedive asked, looking and sounding a little scared. "A lot apparently," Wildwing told him. "Tanya even said that he's in some kind of coma, but it's not a coma. He's in a really deep sleep and we're not sure why."

Nosedive just looked at the older drake in the bed next to him. He stayed silent for awhile, then finally asked, "He's in bad shape, isn't he?"

"…yeah Dive, he is."

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

__

Alright, this is REALLY starting to piss me off.

Duke had woken again in the same state as before just in time to hear Wildwing talking to Nosedive, saying something about how the ex-thief was in bad shape. Duke wanted nothing more than to get up and tell them that he was fine, but his body just wasn't allowing it for some reason or another.

"…so what do we do Wing?"

"There's nothing we can do little brother. He has to wake up himself and there's no telling when that might be."

_If you only knew what was_ really _going on in this body of mine, _Duke thought. He mentally sighed. _I'm really beginning to hate this. Why am I stuck like this? Is it because of what happened? Because my mental side wants to torment me? Because I'm _that _tired? _

Duke had yet to figure it out, so all he could really do was wait it out.

* * *

HAI! Okay, now you're probably wondering why I picked the term "deep-sleep" for whatever state Duke is in. Well, because there actually IS a coma state that's a "rare neurological" thing and it's called "Locked-in Syndrome". The person is completely aware of everything that's around them, but the difference between what's in this story and the real deal is that the person is also awake while being "locked in". They can think, see, and feel anything that happens, but can't do anything about it.


	4. Lose Duke?

HAI! Well, here's another chapter. This one is probably the longest one I've written thus far, and I hope you guys like it =3 My medical knowledge from this chapter is strictly from watching episodes of ER and various ones of Scrubs, so...ya. Just deal.

P.S. Does Taco Bell make triple spicy hot tacos? ^ends random thought^

Disclaimer: I don't own MD:TAS or Taco Bell. If I did own both or either, I'd be rich

* * *

The leader sat next to Duke's bed, reading a book. Nosedive was off somewhere, Mallory was in the Armaments Room, claiming to be cleaning various weapons, Tanya was due to come back to the Infirmary soon (she checked up on Duke at least every two hours), and Grin had gone on what he had called 'a spiritual quest'.

What the larger drake was looking for, Wildwing was not sure.

Not much had changed since they had come back to the Pond almost…how long now? Wildwing had barely left the Infirmary since the first night, so he wasn't sure anymore. Nosedive and Grin would come in and stay with him and bring food, making sure that the goalie ate something to keep up his strength. Mallory was the only one who had not visited since the first night. Wildwing had a feeling that it had something to do with the fact that she kept accusing him of stealing the jewels for himself during that whole ordeal and was now feeling guilty about it. It would explain why she hadn't come back anyway.

"You don't have to stay in here all the time, y'know."

The older Flashblade looked up to see Tanya at the foot of their injured teammate's bed. "I know," Wildwing said, putting his book down. "But I would feel bad if he woke up and no one was here." He looked back at Duke and sighed.

"But you can't keep doing this," Tanya told him. "It's been a week since the incident with Dragaunus and Falcone. Duke hasn't woken up once and you haven't -y'know - left here since that night. You need more than a few hours sleep every other night!"

Wildwing just stared at a spot on the floor. "Maybe so, but I wouldn't be able to even if I left," he told her. "Duke's helped both Dive and me so much, and it would feel like…I was abandoning him if I left now-"

Suddenly, he looked at the ex-thief. "What's wrong?" asked Tanya.

"I've got that same feeling," Wildwing said. "The same feeling when Nosedive had surgery and it took longer. It felt like something just hit the pit of my stomach…"

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Nosedive had been hanging out with Thrash and Mookie at a local Taco Bell when he suddenly felt something…weird. "What's up Dive?" Mookie asked.

"I dunno," Nosedive answered. "I've got this weird feeling that something's happening, or about to."

"You mean with that maroon-jump suited guy that you've been updating us about?" Thrash asked. "What's his name, Duke?"

Dive merely nodded, looking back in the direction of the Pond. "I think I'm gonna go back and see if anything's happening," he finally said. He got up and started back to the Duckcycle he had taken out…

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Grin was suddenly snapped out of his deep meditation when he felt something. He was at a nearby park, trying to meditate with nature since the Pond had too many 'dark clouds' hanging over.

But something just now had shattered his concentration, and it took _a lot _to do that whenever Grin meditated. The much larger duck couldn't feel a certain presence anymore, and that greatly troubled him.

Getting up from his spot on the ground, he activated his rocket skates and sped off towards the Pond…

___**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

_This isn't half bad aft'ah awhile,_ Duke thought. _But seriously, I've been stuck like this for a week it seems. It gets borin'. When can I wake up?_

That's when he heard from far off something suddenly stop. _What the puck was that?_

"Great Mother of Ducks!"

"What do we do?!"

Footsteps running. "I'm gonna grab the paddles! Just go outside and wait!"

"Tanya-"

"NOW!"

And then whatever world Duke was in went black.

___**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Nosedive was making his way to the elevator in the locker room when he ran into Grin. "Grinster!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing back? I thought you went to 'meditate with nature'."

"I was," the other answered. "And I thought you were with your friends."

"I was too," Nosedive answered, the two continuing to the elevator. "But something started bugging me, so I felt like I had to come back"

"That happened to me as well," Grin said. "I felt a presence missing from our team."

Those words made Nosedive stop right in his tracks. "Wait, you can't feel a certain aura?" he asked. Grin shook his head. "If _you _can't feel it, then…o geez! We gotta hurry!"

Grin and Nosedive began to run to the elevator that would take them to the bottom half of the Pond…

___**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Wildwing was pacing outside the doors of the Infirmary when Nosedive and Grin made it there. "Wing! What's going on?" Nosedive asked.

The leader looked up from the floor and quit pacing. "Somebody needs to go get Mallory."

"Wha?"

"She won't answer her comm, so someone needs to get her."

"But what about-"

"NOSEDIVE! Just do it!"

The teenager ran off, shocked that his brother had yelled at him. _Something bad must be going on, _he thought as he ran off to find Mallory…

___**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Mallory had polished her puck blaster so many times now, she could see herself reflecting off the gun. _But it's better than going back down to the Infirmary, _Mallory thought, sighing sadly.

After sitting with Wildwing and Duke that first night, she couldn't get herself to go back down there. She felt terrible because she had accused Duke of so much during the incident a little over a week ago. She didn't know if it was because of her military training and the fact that Duke was originally the greatest thief on Puckworld, but even so...

She should've_ known_ better.

He had joined the Resistance after all and even after coming to Earth, the only real 'stealing' he ever really did was the minor pick pocketing he would do as a joke on the others. The only other thing Duke really did was pick locks, but the only times he had ever done that were usually required during one of their investigations of Dragaunus or other villains.

"Mallory! We gotta problem!"

The red-headed gal was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard Nosedive's voice and the 'whooshing' of the doors opening. "What's wrong?" she asked, facing the teenager. "Did Drake One pick up something somewhere?"

"Something's wrong with Duke!"

_That _got her to immediately drop the puck blaster and run off to the Infirmary with Nosedive leading the way...

___**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

After a few minutes, Nosedive and Mallory were at the Infirmary doors with Wildwing and Grin. "What's going on?" Mallory asked upon stopping. "What's happening?"

"Duke went into cardiac arrest almost half an hour ago," Wildwing answered.

The others just stood where they were, the news hitting them like a tidal wave. Nosedive stumbled backwards to the closest bench seat, Mallory just stood there, and Grin's expression became very grim.

"Great DuCaine," Nosedive finally muttered. He looked up at his brother. "What happened Wing? Why'd it happen?"

Wildwing sat next to his brother, placing an arm around the younger Flashblade's shoulders. "I dunno little brother," Wing answered. "It just did. But Duke's a fighter, don't forget that."

"He can't go."

The three males looked at Mallory. "He can't go yet," she said. "I haven't apologized yet for everything I did-"

"He was aware of your sorrow."

Mallory looked to Grin. "Duke made peace with his past and you accepted it," the Zen-oriented duck said. "He knows that."

The red-head looked surprised for a moment. Then her face fell back into one of sadness. "I still feel horrible about what I said," she said quietly. "Even if I apologized back at the Fredonia Clocktower, I still feel like I owe him another one."

Grin looked at her and simply nodded. "But for now, we wait," he said, taking a seat on the floor. "If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are."

Mallory just stared at him. "…what?"

"Exactly."

___**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Another half hour passed before the Infirmary doors opened and Tanya came out, looking tired. The others looked up from their seats, worried for their friend.

Wildwing finally broke the silence. "So Tanya? Is he…?"

Tanya sighed. "It took awhile, but he's stable."

The others heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank Drake," Mallory said quietly.

Wildwing stood up from his seat. "Can we see him Tanya?" he asked.

Tanya thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, but keep it brief," she said. "A cardiac arrest is pretty stressful on someone's body."

The others followed Tanya inside.

Duke pretty much looked the same as he did before. The only difference was that there were a few more bandages around his chest than before.

"Is it just me, or are there more of those wrapped around him?" Mallory asked, pointing towards Duke.

"I had to - uh - cut off the original bandages to use the paddles on him," Tanya told her. "Then when I was re-applying them, I had to cover the spots where the paddles burned through his -uh - feathers."

"He's got burns now?!" Nosedive exclaimed.

"They're minor ones," the team tech said. "They're just from where I…" She couldn't finish her sentence, because that would bring up what had happened before.

The others just looked at their injured friend. "I guess all we can do is continue to wait," Wildwing finally said, looking at the heart monitor that was spiking every few seconds…

___**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

_Oi…what was that?_

Duke was back in the state of awareness he had been in. But something felt different this time. It was like…he could feel _more _of the things around him. Which was odd.

_I wonder what happened awhile ago. It didn't feel like I died, but I know I didn't wake up. So what was that?_

Duke really wanted to wake up and see what was going on. So he tried to open his eyes for the ump-teenth time-

-and felt his eyes twitching.

_Great Drake! Can I open my eyes now?!_

___**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

"I'm gonna go with Nosedive and pick up something for all of us to eat," Tanya said to Wildwing, who had taken back the seat next to Duke's bed. "Anything inparti-inpartic- anything special you want to eat?"

Wildwing shook his head. "Nah, get anything," he answered. "I'll eat it."

Tanya just smiled. "You sure you'll be okay by yourself?" she asked. Nosedive was waiting for her in the Ready Room, Grin was in his room, meditating, and Mallory was…somewhere.

The leader nodded. "I'm sure," he answered.

So Tanya left, leaving the goalie with his book and Duke. While Wildwing would've loved to get up and walk around, he felt that he couldn't. As he had told Tanya, he didn't want Duke waking up with no one around…

___**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Duke could feel his eyes twitch. _I hope they left my eye patch on, or else I'm not gonna be able to see,_ he thought. He managed to open his eyes a little, only to be greeted by very bright lights. The ex-thief quickly shut them, as they were blindingly bright.

_I'm not dead am I?_ he thought. Duke slightly opened them again, to find it a bit easier to see…and noticed that he was looking up at the lights of the Infirmary. The ex-thief managed to avert his gaze to the side of the bed and see who was with him.

"Wildwing?"


	5. Confessions of a Troubled Mind

HAI A-GAIN! I managed to scrape up another chapter! I hope you guys like this one =3

P.S. I found out that Taco Bell has what they call "Volcano" food items. I'm guessing that that's the equivalent to a triple spicy hot taco, but since I haven't had one yet, I'm not sure

P.S.S. Warning in this chapter for Mallory OOC-ness. And slight fluff, but only a little.

Disclaimer: I don't own MD:TAS. If I did, I'd be rich

* * *

The leader could've _sworn _that he had just heard his name. He looked up from the book he was reading at Duke to see that the older drake's eyes were open and looking at him.

"Duke!" Wildwing exclaimed in surprise. He dropped his book, jumped out of his seat, and stood over his friend. "Thank DuCaine you're awake. We weren't sure if you-"

"-were gonna wake up?" Duke finished, his voice a tad on the rusty side.

The goalie slowly nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed.

The ex-thief just smiled. "For awhile, I wasn't sure I was eith'ah," he admitted.

"What do you mean by that?"

Duke's smile faded and he looked away.

"I could hear and feel everythin' Wildwing. The last thing I rememb'ah while I could move was Dive sayin' that there was blood on my hand and the floor comin' at me. Then I woke up but I _didn't _wake up. I could feel the floor of the Aerowing and, who I can only guess was Tanya, was pressing something to my side. But I couldn't move…at all."

Wildwing was shocked at this. "You mean…you've been able to hear and feel everything since you collapsed?" he asked.

Duke nodded. "Yeah. From the floor of the Aerowing, to bile in the back of my throat, to hearin' you guys talkin' here in the Infirmary, I heard or felt it. But…"

"But what?" Wildwing asked, pulling his chair closer to the bed and re-claiming his seat.

"It was…surreal," Duke answered. "It all sounded far off, and I wasn't always…aware. I guess my body tried to sleep, because I could hear some stuff, then everything would go blank." He paused and looked back at Wing. "At least, that's the only way I can explain it."

The leader didn't know what to say. It was shocking enough that the gray mallard in the bed next to him was awake, but to know that he'd heard close to everything that had been said over the past eight days? That _was _surreal.

"How long have I been out anyway?" Duke asked. "It feels like it's been a week since I last saw anythin'."

"Technically, it's been about eight days since you collapsed," the older Flashblade told him.

"Really?" Duke asked, a smirk in his face. "Somehow, I'm not all that surprised."

Wildwing looked at him oddly. "Why not? Because you've been hearing everything?"

"Somethin' like that," Duke answered sadly.

"…is something the matter?" Wing asked.

The ex-thief didn't answer for awhile. "Duke?"

"I…there's somethin' else I gotta say."

Wildwing looked confused. "What is it?" he asked.

Duke once again averted his gaze, this time just looking up at the ceiling. "I…I did a lot of thinkin' when we were comin' back to the Pond and over the last week while I could hear all of ya," he admitted. "The minute this whole thing started with findin' Falcone's feather, I knew I had to con him into tellin' me what Dragaunus' plan was. But the only way I knew how to do that was to make him think I'd gone back to the life I had back on Puckworld.

"I knew that I wasn't changin' sides or anythin' but…the rushes I used to get from being 'the greatest thief on Puckworld' came back. Not when this thing started with that ruby, but when Falcone was after the diamond in Frisco and the sapphire in Fredonia, I just…"

"Was tempted?" Wildwing finished, beginning to understand why the older drake was feeling bad.

"…yeah," the former jewel bandit admitted. "I _almost _wanted to go back. But then I remembered why I was doin' what I was doin' in the first place. I didn't want the kid or Tanya to get hurt, so I ditched 'em…though in retrospect, that might've been a bad idea since Falcone put them in that weird chamber."

The leader of the team continued to listen as his teammate talked. "I just…I was tempted. I'll admit it, though don't tell Mallory, or she'll freak."

"Don't worry, I won't," Wing answered, smiling a little. "But anyway, I can understand being tempted. Whenever Dragaunus gets some new scheme in his head and we have to fight, I'm always wanting to go in head-first. But I know I can't."

Duke tried to laugh, but it proved to hurt too much after a few seconds. "I guess that's where the kid gets it from," he said, looking back at his leader. "Watches his big broth'ah too much."

Wildwing smirked. "Well, I dunno about getting it from me," he said. "But whatever." The goalie then held up his arm, showing his communicator. "Do we tell the others now that you're awake, or would you rather wait until they get back?"

Duke thought about it for a minute. "Get Mallory."

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Grin had been standing just outside the Infirmary doors when he heard Duke and Wildwing begin to talk. Not wanting to interrupt, he stood outside listening to the best of his ability to their conversation (though he knew it was rude to eavesdrop, he did it anyway).

He had been in meditation earlier when he had felt Duke's aura glow brighter than it had over the past week. When Grin went to investigate however, he had heard his teammate's voice through the door to the Infirmary and decided that it was best to not interrupt.

_I suppose it really is as the human Buddha once said,_ Grin thought, a smile coming to his face. _On life's journey, faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him; If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom. _

He started to leave when Mallory rounded the corner, running smack into him. "Ow," she uttered. Then she looked up to see Grin. "What are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Checking on a friend," he simply stated. She looked up at him for a second, then headed inside the Infirmary.

Grin smiled, taking a seat on one of the benches. _For now, I wait._

_**RVRVRVRVRVRVRV**_

Mallory came into the Infirmary, looking a little disheveled. She had been re-loading some of the weapons in the Armaments Room when Wildwing had said she was needed in the Infirmary. He hadn't said why, but she had an odd feeling about it.

"What's going on?" she asked, coming to the bed. "Is-"

She stopped the second she got to her injured teammate's bedside. "…Duke?" she managed to say in a small voice.

Said duck looked up at her and smiled. "Hey sweetheart," he greeted.

Wildwing stood up from his seat. "I think I'm gonna go see if I can find anything to drink around here," he said. With that, he went out the door of the Infirmary so Mallory could talk to their friend in private.

The fiery red-head just looked at the ex-thief. "…You're really awake? This isn't some dream?"

The former jewel bandit chuckled. "Nope, I'm awake," he answered.

For a moment, she just stood there, staring in disbelief at the friend whom they'd almost lost earlier that day. Then her eyes began to tear up as she tried not to cry.

"Mallory? You okay?"

The gal answered by doing a near glomp. Duke winced as she hugged him, but smiled anyway. "It's good to see you too sweetheart," he said, bringing his right arm around her to hug her, listening to her sniffle.

"I'm sorry Duke," she finally managed to say. "I-"

"Don't worry about it," he told her. "I know. Don't feel bad."

She pulled away, sitting on the bed as she looked at him. "I can't help it," she said. "I said all that awful stuff about you, especially when you were just trying to help, though not in a conventional way."

Duke chuckled, still smiling that famous L'Orange grin of his. "I know," he said. "But it helped and Falcone's outta our hair now. So don't worry about anythin'."

She smiled back, glad that their injured teammate was now awake.


	6. Duke's Epilogue

HAI GAIZ. Just a short epilogue here. In all honesty, I couldn't think of anything else to write after Duke's awakening, so this is what came up.

Disclaimer: I don't own MD:TAS or the quotes of Mallory's and Tanya's. If I did, I'd be rich

* * *

EPILOGUE

_I dunno what's more boring, _Duke thought, laying back on double pillows in his own bed. _Bein' stuck in bed all day, healin',_ WHILE AWAKE_ or being in that comatose state I was in. _

Another week had passed and Tanya had said that it was alright if he was back in his own room instead of the Infirmary. Only problem was that he was not allowed out of bed for _at least_ another two weeks, mainly because of the bruised ribs and the gash that Falcone had given him; though the gash's stitches were going to be taken out soon, Tanya still had him in bed because she didn't want him to move around much.

One of the good things about being out of the Infirmary was that he could be back in his own bed, his own 'wine-colored' pajamas (though it took help to get into a top and he could only slip one arm into a sleeve. He hated the sling his arm was still in) and didn't have to take Phil's crap about publicity stunts for awhile.

The other thing that was good in his state of mind was that everyone would come visit for awhile so he wouldn't feel alone; they'd take turns to come in and bring something fun for him to do. Tanya had bought him a huge book of crossword puzzles (which he enjoyed doing whenever he had coffee) that they would try to work on together, Grin would bring some tea during each visit and they would talk about life in general, Nosedive brought in a new movie every time and they'd spend their whole visit commenting on what was up with different parts, Mallory usually brought cards (and he didn't really know what a card-shark she was until he started playing with her), and Wildwing just talked with him. Talking with Wing had made things alot easier on Duke, considering he had confessed alot back in the Infirmary.

Duke took his left arm out of the sling and looked at the cast, smiling at the various signatures. The others had all signed it in their own unique way:

Wildwing

NOSEDIVE CLAIMS THIS SPOT

Grin - "Pain is an illusion…an illusion that really, really hurts."

Tanya - "Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity."

Mallory - "To heal from the inside out is the key"

...P.S. I'm still sorry.

The ex-thief smiled while reading the writing. In the past, he had questioned what kind of relationship he had with each of his team members and whether or not they would care for him. In the Brotherhood of the Blade, trust and loyalty were things that were hard to come by. Sure there was a code of honor most of the thieves in the guild lived by, but most turned their back to it and would end up killing others members in order for eternal glory.

Over time, Duke had come to care for each of the other five in his own way, even trusted them with his life. Though he questioned what they thought of him, he never questioned his own thoughts of them.

Until the incident with Falcone that is. Or rather, the week while he was in the Infirmary to be exact. Since he could hear everything that was happening and being said, he had heard a lot. The ex-thief realized that the other members of the team cared for him as one of their own, though they didn't always show it. Of course, people were always like that; and sometimes they didn't show any indication of it until it was too late.

Duke sighed, a smile on his face. They had always cared, even the military "trained-to-show-no-emotion" Mallory.

And that was what made him feel like he was the luckiest duck alive.


End file.
